State Dept now inserting Obama hosannas in “Fact Sheets”?

posted at 11:21 am on August 17, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

First, hosannas to Barack Obama began appearing in the presidential biographies of his predecessors on the official White House website. Now, Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne has discovered that the State Department has begun inserting hosannas to the boss in their new “Fact Sheets” of countries around the world. Is the Obama administration attempting to build a cult of personality, or just create the jobs necessary to clean up official government websites of his electioneering after January?

Inserting himself into the biographies of past presidents on the White House website apparently wasn’t enough for President Obama. His State Department is now editing its descriptions of foreign countries into yet another taxpayer-subsidized campaign commercial for the Obama Administration.

The State Department has recently ended its long-running series of Background Notes, which were analytical, objective histories of other countries. In their place, new “Fact Sheets” now tout Obama’s policies and actions toward each nation. No more historical context, no recounting of complex and long-standing issues in the country. Just cut to the chase—that is, the time when the current Administration came to power.

Heritage’s Jim Roberts, one of the editors of Heritage’s Index of Economic Freedom, was struck by the disproportionate change in emphasis while doing some research recently. Roberts, who worked at the State Department from 1982 to 2007 and used to write these country profiles, said he had never seen edits like these under either previous Republican or Democratic Administrations.

The Dear Leader approach is bad enough — but State also seems to be using the spin sheets to punish nations that don’t agree with Obama’s policies:

Roberts noted that “They seem to be not ‘fact sheets’ but brag sheets,” adding that the edits appear to treat countries more favorably when the Obama Administration agrees with their leaders.

Isn’t this something we’d expect to see from Pyongyang rather than Washington DC?

Compare the nearly 1,200-word “Fact Sheet” published this week by the U.S. embassy in Brazil with the last Background Note on Brazil written during the George W. Bush Administration.

The 4,100-word Bush document, chock full of facts and figures helpful in analyzing the country and its importance to the U.S., never once mentions the name of any U.S. President. The 300-word section on U.S.–Brazil relations takes up about 7 percent of the document.

Conversely, fully 70 percent (830 words) of the Brazil Fact Sheet, which is focused exclusively on U.S. relations with Brazil, discusses President Obama either directly by name (twice!) or in the context of the plethora of programs his Administration has launched with Brazil, including a shared “commitment to combat discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) status; to advance gender equality; a bilateral instrument that targets racism; support for HIV/AIDS prevention, promotion of clean energy technologies in Brazil, and mitigation of climate change.”

Payne concludes:

American officeholders are supposed to take great pains to separate their campaigns from their official duties. Using taxpayer resources to blatantly promote the president’s positions on foreign policy—and even editing the historical record—is an egregious abuse of power.

Absolutely true — and it’s also a measure of the insecurity of the President and his staff. They’re busy trying to manipulate government records to secure his legacy, when it’s the manipulation that will speak loudest to historians of the era.

I want Obama’s own real history to be posted on all governmental websites starting January 2013. That includes his hospital of birth records, his school and college transcripts, and a very long list of his felonious acts during his so-called presidency, with a matching list of convictions attached to the latter.

The Obama Presidency has been such a clusterfark that historians will refer to these 4 years as a point of interest. Pre Obama and Post Obama. He has broken so much protocol, so many rules, so many unspoken Presidential courtesies that he will be the low bench mark for Presidencies. Move over Wilson/Carter. Obama is the champion of FAIL.

I want Obama’s own real history to be posted on all governmental websites starting January 2013. That includes his hospital of birth records, his school and college transcripts, and a very long list of his felonious acts during his so-called presidency, with a matching list of convictions attached to the latter.

Archivarix on August 17, 2012 at 11:27 AM

Same here. Can a new president unseal them? I read the EO that was signed but don’t understand all the ‘legalese’. Anyone know how it would work?

The same thing is happening with Medicare propaganda being sent out by CMS. It starts with something like “Thanks to the Affordable Care Act..” and goes on to hype all of the preventive services now available thanks to our benevolent government.

It’s enough to make you sick. If you don’t believe they’d stoop to sending out pro-Obama bumpf just look on their website for “news:”

CMS NEWS

Obama administration issues new rules to cut red tape for doctors and hospitals, saving up to $9 billion

The Obama Presidency has been such a clusterfark that historians will refer to these 4 years as a point of interest. Pre Obama and Post Obama. He has broken so much protocol, so many rules, so many unspoken Presidential courtesies that he will be the low bench mark for Presidencies. Move over Wilson/Carter. Obama is the champion of FAIL.

portlandon on August 17, 2012 at 11:32 AM

Only problem is that all “historians” are also Democrats. And they all voted for this dude.

For them to call his Presidency a “failure” would be for them to also admit that they were failures.

Imagine that you are a nobody welfare queens agitator agitating the welfare queens of inner city Chicago and then you become the President of the United States of America the most powerful, the richest, and most advanced nation in history of mankind…Of course all this would go into the head of this little and peety man… so nothing surprising here… On November 6 2012 we are going to utterly defeat this fool and on January 20 2013 this insult would be out of the White House back to Chicago where he belongs…

when it’s the manipulation that will speak loudest to historians of the era.

Amen! His will be a history of lies and deceit, plundering the financial system for his power machine, and destroying the constitutional limits imposed upon the presidency.

His attack on relious freedom and the Catholic Church reeks of the worst of despots–made all the worse by the near silence of the political right GOP probably for fear it might offend it’s own not so religion friendly minions.

Isn’t this something we’d expect to see from Pyongyang rather than Washington DC?

YES. Yes, it is.

The history — the correctly recorded history — of Barack Obama and Administration (includes the Hillary State rendition) WILL BE: the most incompetent, casually deranged and irresponsibly blundering Presidency in the history of the United States of America.

That “reset button” flounder at the start of Obama’s one and only term really did illustrate the incompetence overall that was at that time taking over reason.

Roberts, who worked at the State Department from 1982 to 2007 and used to write these country profiles, said he had never seen edits like these under either previous Republican or Democratic Administrations.

American officeholders are supposed to take great pains to separate their campaigns from their official duties. Using taxpayer resources to blatantly promote the president’s positions on foreign policy—and even editing the historical record—is an egregious abuse of power.

I downloaded that Do Not Track app and already I got a bronze medal. This app is similar to Ghostery except it gives more info about who’s tracking you. I use Firefox 3.6 and Zone Alarm Extreme Security and I have no problems with this app.

As Ed points out, historians will view this as transparent and pathetic. This sort of egoism will direct their research. It invites them to focus on Obama’s narcissism and egotism throughout their research of him and this era of U.S. government.

A great president expands himself in representing the nation. He takes his place in history because he represents the best interest, not of himself or his own ego, but of the nation. A great President’s pride is in the nation and what it does at home and abroad, not only in the context of his own administration, but in the context of the nation’s past and future. A great President is aware that he stands, not only on the shoulders of those President’s who came before him, but on the shoulders of the people whom he was duly sworn to serve.

This is one more incidence of Obama’s blundering. While he means to secure his ‘place’ in the history books, rather than expanding, rather than be remembered for how well the nation did during his administration, he narrows his focus. Its always been the same with Obama, even in his speeches. Its all ‘me.. me .. me… I … I … I ‘.

With these transparent and petty attempts to put the spotlight on himself, Obama ensures that the world will understand how absolutely flawed, needy, and very small, he really was, both as a man, and a President.

American officeholders are supposed to take great pains to separate their campaigns from their official duties. Using taxpayer resources to blatantly promote the president’s positions on foreign policy—and even editing the historical record—is an egregious abuse of power.

Thus is explained Barack Obama’s motive for “sealing” all his “records” as his first act in the Presidency.

Obama doesn’t want the reality of who he is and what he’s about to be included in history, he’s fitfully trying to maintain the “fantasy Obama” history instead. His actual records would immediately dispell that fantasy version, thus, “sealed”.

Thus is explained Barack Obama’s motive for “sealing” all his “records” as his first act in the Presidency.

Obama doesn’t want the reality of who he is and what he’s about to be included in history, he’s fitfully trying to maintain the “fantasy Obama” history instead. His actual records would immediately dispell that fantasy version, thus, “sealed”.

Lourdes on August 17, 2012 at 11:51 AM

More specifically, I’d be curious in finding out just who it was who advised Obama to take that action first thing in Office, because I strongly doubt Obama thought of it himself, it was almost certainly part of the overall plan he was advised to follow while pursuing the Presidency.

It’s time to stop condemning Joe McCarthy. Because he had his fringes, I realize, but his overall point was correct: infiltrations in U.S. government.

Because you are a good commenter. Try this. One warning, it will do away with the ads and the presence of FB. It will also dramatically speed up your refresh. Read the info on it to make sure it is compatible with your system and OS/browser. ; )

NoScript. You temporarily unblock scripts from limited sites (or permanently unblock for like your bank or whatever) but you’re blocked/protected from any scripts on any sites when you first visit.

Scripting tends to be 90%+ the source of all the virus issues I had. I know because I’ve not even seen any of my virus scans chirp since I got NoScript.

Yes it’s a hassle the first few weeks allowing the scripts for your bank/billpay/creditcard/insurance sites to get the logins working. But the peace of mind knowing that you won’t end up with a hacked webcomic site running a script and dumping a virus on you (as you don’t run their scripts) is nice.

You have to tell people that they might need you to open up security on some sites for them using your computer; but it’s a small price to pay.

Conversely, fully 70 percent (830 words) of the Brazil Fact Sheet, which is focused exclusively on U.S. relations with Brazil, discusses President Obama either directly by name (twice!) or in the context of the plethora of programs his Administration has launched with Brazil, including a shared “commitment to combat discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) status; to advance gender equality; a bilateral instrument that targets racism; support for HIV/AIDS prevention, promotion of clean energy technologies in Brazil, and mitigation of climate change.”

Fun facts:

Andrew Sullivan is a gay activist.
Who is HIV-positive.
And lives in Brazil.
And is an Obama surrogate.

All campaign season rhetoric aside, the degradation of the country and its institutions largely (not exclusively) associated with the election of this non-entity in 2008 seems unlkely to be repaired, and intelligent people will find it hard to overlook or forget.

Some of us have been abroad under the US flag, without hesitation or need of guidance, left politics back home. To include remaining diplomatic and positive and above the fray even when a president was humiliating the country with personal behavior. And remained totally professional when “journalists” were exhibiting the most extreme, ignorant, unprofessional, and anti-American attitudes.

The rot has become an amazing stench at this point, but it goes deeper than one election.

Recall the unbelievable (a word that has become completely inadequate to the times) behavior of senior intel community executives (and ex-executives) back in the Bush admin., literally revealing key surveillance programs in war-time (and the pathetic response of the administration).

It’s not a political issue, its a deadly serious substantive one. The rot in academia (noted above), like the rot in a lot of the federal govt. at the working level, and in journalism, has widespread pernicious effects. Look at the level of ignorance, false understanding, and moral imbecility among your NPR-listening “educated” demographic. This is anything but a foible of a few temporary office-holders, Ed.

Survival is not impossible, but I am waiting for someone to map out how you fix a structure with so much rot in so many parts of the foundation.
v

Much like Obama’s capacity to profligately spend other people’s money, there is no limit to this small-minded, incompetent, insecure, narcissist’s ego. Unfortunately for this nation and the rest of the world, this same person is President of the United States.

In Saudi Arabia, when a new King comes into power, down comes the pictures of the old King and up comes the pictures of the new King. Everywhere. You would never know there was a previous ‘King’.
It’s the nature of ‘Kings’.

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias Obama
, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.